Malayalam actor Sowmya has accused a Tamil director of sexually assaulting her. In a recent interview, the actress alleged that the filmmaker ‘groomed’ her as a sex slave and kissed once her while his wife was not at home. Sowmya revealed that she decided to act in one of his films because she felt “obligated” but admitted that she “wasn’t comfortable with the man” even after their first meeting.
Even though she did not name the director, the actress said that she would reveal the man’s identity to the special police team formed by the Kerala government, which is currently probing sexual harassment allegations in the film industry.
“One fine day, when his wife wasn’t around, this man, while calling me his daughter, kissed me. I completely froze. I was so desperate to tell my friends but couldn’t… I was ashamed, thinking I had done something wrong and that I was obligated to be nice to this man,” she told NDTV.
“So I continued going for practice, for dance rehearsals… every day I went back and gradually, step by step, this man completely used my body to his advantage. At some point he forced himself on me… so he raped me. This went on for close to a year while I was in college,” she claimed.
Sowmya claimed that even though the director used to call her his ‘daughter’, he ‘messed’ up with her and assaulted her. “It took 30 years for me to heal and recover from this sense of ‘shame’… I encourage survivors to report all such abuse,” she said.
The allegations come at a time when several cases of sexual assault in the Malayalam film industry have left the entire nation shocked. It all started after the findings of the Justice Hema Committee Report were made public earlier this month. As of now, FIRs have been registered against nine film personalities, which include Mukesh, Siddique, Jayasurya, Edavela Babu, Nivin Pauly, Maniyan Pillai Raju, directors Ranjith, V. K. Prakash, production executives Vichu and Noble after women actresses registered complaints.
Disclaimer: As per legal and ethical guidelines, we generally refrain from naming victims in cases of sexual harassment or assault. The inclusion of the name in this article is based on the fact that the individual has publicly identified themselves in connection with the case. We respect the privacy and dignity of all individuals involved and urge readers to approach the matter sensitively.
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